![Electro Optic Systems, which supplies technology to the aerospace and defence markets, is the best-performing stock tip ...](/web/20170430144128im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/l/5/t/c/g/image.related.wideLandscape.460x259.gvueo0.png/1493348332900.jpg)
Investing
![Electro Optic Systems, which supplies technology to the aerospace and defence markets, is the best-performing stock tip ...](/web/20170430144128im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/l/5/t/c/g/image.related.wideLandscape.460x259.gvueo0.png/1493348332900.jpg)
Buying property with your super fund has drawbacks
![If you're investing in property, you're probably better off buying it in your personal name than your self-managed super ...](/web/20170430144128im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/v/b/g/f/z/image.related.landscape.120x80.gvt6ke.png/1493249063492.jpg)
Whether or not the government removes the ability of self-managed super funds to borrow to purchase property or other investments, the implications for investors are relatively minor.
How to protect yourself from housing bubble downside
![As BrickX chief executive, Anthony Millet heads a fintech start-up that offers a different way to invest in residential ...](/web/20170430144128im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/s/g/9/d/5/image.related.landscape.120x80.gvr7e2.png/1493159122470.jpg)
When looking at investing in property, you need to build in a buffer to help you withstand any dramatic changes.
The best-performing asset class of the past five years
![A-REITs have done very well, including ALE Property Group, which owns pubs.](/web/20170430144128im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/t/d/z/4/1/image.related.landscape.120x80.gvoh7d.png/1493132815358.jpg)
The best-performing asset class of the past five years are the listed trusts that own commercial property.
Margin loans are bad for your financial health
![Leverage magnifies both losses and gains.](/web/20170430144128im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/s/h/k/u/e/image.related.landscape.120x80.gvppku.png/1492751651408.jpg)
Borrowing to invest. The idea is almost as old as investing itself.
Tipsters lose ground as share prices fall across the board
![Mineral sands producer Mineral Deposits is the best-performing stock so far.](/web/20170430144128im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/1/0/7/h/x/b/image.related.landscape.120x80.gvpaq2.png/1492743583039.jpg)
It's been a tough week for our tipsters, with all of them slipping in week three of the four-week Shares Race.
The lower the yield, the higher the cost of fees
![<p>](/web/20170430144128im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/v/m/i/i/8/image.related.landscape.120x80.gvmiel.png/1492521929369.jpg)
Several factors mean we shouldn't be so easily fooled about fees now – well, that's the theory.
Motley Fool: What China collapse?
![A few months ago the smartest people in finance were waxing lyrical on whether the Chinese landing would be "hard" or ...](/web/20170430144128im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/s/j/a/x/m/image.related.landscape.120x80.gvm0if.png/1492391284698.jpg)
What's the greatest threat to the world economy and our economic prosperity?
Keep the shorting 'hyenas' in your peripheral vision
![Hyenas rarely do the initial damage but once they swoop in, they can quickly become the problem.](/web/20170430144128im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/r/o/s/z/o/image.related.landscape.120x80.gvk6oj.png/1492390251185.jpg)
All investors and traders should keep shorting activity in their peripheral vision because it highlights stocks that have an issue.
Defence housing offers a defensive yield in low-interest times
![A DHA Housing home in Townsville.](/web/20170430144128im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/u/y/a/t/2/image.related.landscape.120x80.gvklx1.png/1492121622239.jpg)
The low-interest rate environment is driving rising numbers of private investors to put some of their money into housing for Australian Defence Force members.
Reshuffle of the racer ranks in volatile market
![Afterpay, which lets retailers offer consumers a buy-now-pay-later service, was one of the best stocks in the Shares ...](/web/20170430144128im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/u/y/y/2/9/image.related.landscape.120x80.gvkp5s.png/1492484495444.jpg)
The Shares Race is still anyone's game.
The real foe for Coles, Woolies
![Costco has grabbed a 1 per cent share of the grocery business.](/web/20170430144128im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/r/t/4/x/8/image.related.landscape.120x80.gvk5es.png/1492045420185.jpg)
The big box retailer has big ambitions… and runs on the board.
Top Australian share funds named
![There are some fund managers with a track record of outperforming the market.](/web/20170430144128im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/t/h/f/m/i/image.related.landscape.120x80.gvd6sa.png/1491953010731.jpg)
It was not all that long ago that some fund managers had star status with investors.
Who's to blame when bad investments hit the wall?
![Despite public concerns, Nant kept advertising its scheme of selling barrels of whisky and cattle.](/web/20170430144128im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/m/n/v/b/h/image.related.landscape.120x80.gvhbpp.png/1491866365647.jpg)
Everyone has the right to be stupid and blow their savings – and then to complain bitterly about it afterwards.
Investing in defence housing: do the numbers stack up?
![Despite the criticism, DHA has many happy investors.](/web/20170430144128im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/u/y/b/8/q/image.related.landscape.120x80.gvfzzc.png/1491558312733.jpg)
Investment homes leased back to Defence Housing Australia for housing military personnel become a key part of many Australians' investment portfolios, and at first glance there is little not to like.
Money reader takes lead on clean energy and livestock feed picks
![Money reader John Wyatt is backing renewable energy companies.](/web/20170430144128im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/h/v/x/l/t/image.related.landscape.120x80.gvfnpo.png/1492071340560.jpg)
Money reader John Wyatt has opened a decent lead in week one of the new four-week Shares Race, helped by his clean energy picks – Carnegie and Infigen.
How I cheated myself out of $17m
![For all the talk of averages and long-term returns, most investors and traders would love to find that life-changing ...](/web/20170430144128im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/s/h/m/k/8/image.related.landscape.120x80.gvc6wz.png/1491182034182.jpg)
The best money-making opportunities require you to sit back and do absolutely nothing.
Money reader leads in year-long share tipping game
![Bega is diversifying beyond cheese, buying Vegemite from Kraft.](/web/20170430144128im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/t/w/b/5/g/image.related.landscape.120x80.gvalzn.png/1491053074642.jpg)
Nine weeks into the year-long Shares Race and Money reader Rod Leonarder has a clear lead thanks to strong returns from his picks - private health insurer NIB Holdings, NAB and jobs website Seek.
Reducing the risks of borrowing to buy an investment property
![Select assets likely to increase in value and generate long-term capital gains.](/web/20170430144128im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/t/g/b/o/m/image.related.landscape.120x80.gv9lrq.png/1491051225372.jpg)
The emphasis should be on the merits of the assets purchased and not the tax savings from the transaction.
The only way to read a stock price chart
![Looking for patterns in stock price charts is the investment version of astrology.](/web/20170430144128im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/v/1/v/i/e/image.related.landscape.120x80.gv7a1v.png/1490585517587.jpg)
Scores of investors analyse charts, hoping to find a pattern telling them when to buy or sell a stock.
Should pension fund investors take profits now?
![Optimism about US president Donald Trump's economic policies has been driving Wall Street.](/web/20170430144128im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/s/f/t/y/n/image.related.landscape.120x80.gv5he2.png/1490318087430.jpg)
Is this as good as it gets for investors?
Professional investors come up trumps in Shares Race finale
![Ash Shilkin, managing director of ChimpChange.](/web/20170430144128im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/u/7/6/p/s/image.related.landscape.120x80.gv5ewi.png/1490314667939.jpg)
The pros finish first and second in the final week of Shares Race.
Home renovations that give you the most bang for your buck
![Nic Tait at his renovated cottage in Brunswick, Melbourne.](/web/20170430144128im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/v/4/i/e/u/image.related.landscape.120x80.gv4l55.png/1490236438878.jpg)
There are two types of renovators: those creating a dream home for themselves, and those doing up a property to maximise its value.
Don't bet the house on solving the affordability crisis
![Superannuation is designed to provide an income stream in retirement, not an equity fund.](/web/20170430144128im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/u/x/d/2/w/image.related.landscape.120x80.gv3vim.png/1490782795742.jpg)
We're seeing a lot of calls for solutions to the housing affordability crisis. But are the solutions as useful as they claim?
ASX rout was fall we had to have
![Markets can over-react to an event in both directions.](/web/20170430144128im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/t/8/v/f/7/image.related.landscape.120x80.gv4acf.png/1491890803774.jpg)
The largest fall of 2017 isn't a surprise – or necessarily even a harbinger.
Why our assumptions, and current share prices, might be wrong
![Before the Brexit vote, investors assumed Britain would not vote to leave the EU.](/web/20170430144128im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/u/t/x/0/v/image.related.landscape.120x80.gv1wok.png/1490074579348.jpg)
Assumptions are the root of all major losses. What assumptions are we making today?
Cannabis stocks are all the rage, but it's a bubble
![Smoking is still bad for you, but taking cannabis in oil form can have medicinal value.](/web/20170430144128im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/t/6/e/e/c/image.related.landscape.120x80.gv0eub.png/1489722768963.jpg)
The ASX has gone to pot. Medical cannabis is the only game in town and it's going to end badly.
Take charge to outsmart the property spruikers
![There can be good buys in bad locations, and bad buys in good locations. Illustration: Michael Mucci](/web/20170430144128im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/u/y/i/b/3/image.related.landscape.120x80.guyi19.png/1490080161015.jpg)
Control the process and select your investment property after due research, not just because some slick salesperson talked you into it.
What does an army home really look like?
![Naval officer Scott Palmer and his wife Monica invested in a DHA property after first living in one. Anyone can invest ...](/web/20170430144128im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/u/x/u/f/x/image.related.landscape.120x80.guxrjp.png/1489730967623.jpg)
If you are worried about nasty surprises, it's worth considering an investment property from Defence Housing Australia.
Beware of free property seminars
![The seminars always follow the same pattern.](/web/20170430144128im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/t/1/l/n/s/image.related.landscape.120x80.guv6ok.png/1489533110167.jpg)
When any asset class is booming, the predators arrive.